INDEPENDENT GAME OF THE YEAR, 2004

This is the highest honor of the Indie RPG Awards. It is
awarded to the best overall Independently produced RPG of the year, as chosen
by peers and members the gaming community. It is given to the RPG and the
designer who made it. Everything which makes a game good; from game elements
of story, setting, rules, innovation, and overall game design; to physical
qualities like graphical design and layout, are taken into account for the
awarding of this honor.

THE INDEPENDENT GAME OF THE YEAR FOR 2004 IS...

DOGS IN THE VINEYARD / with 101 points

Selected Peer Feedback:

"fascinating game; much impressed with the chargen, escalation
mechanics, and the whole mileu as presented."

"Dogs in the Vineyard is an extraordinary game which
is morally weighty, user friendly, and draws on techniques from the entire
history game design. The text is like the game in play, compact, hard-hitting,
and resolute in its drive to change your life for the better."

"DitV is what Indie game design is all about. It's got
an innovative conflict resolution system that sits perfectly in the background.
The game comes will proper design tools for characters and adventures that
give great support to both GM and players. A clear winner."

Dogs in the Vineyard's Town Creation rules are a pioneering
step forward in rules structure on the GM's side of the screen. The conflicts
in this game seem to write themselves. Also, putting gameplay into the character
creation is bucket of cold water onto the face of other game designers.
The escalation mechanics make every choice *matter.*

"Dogs in the Vineyard: problably one of the most inovative
games of the past 5 years. It takes a very overused genre and breathes a
new spark of life into its wary bones."

"This game made my list because it has generated a lot
of buzz. It is not first because it did not push my emotional buttons like
Cat did. The game feels very Mormon to me. Role playing a member of the
church police pushes a negative button in my mind - Most people would see
this if the game was about role playing a member of the Saudi religious
police. See how that rankcles? But I have to give credit to an excellent
application of Forge ideas and a well executed book. Good work Vincent!
Hope you enjoy the puppet." * (note: "puppet" refers to Afro-Dog,
the mascot of the Indie RPG Awards and present for the winner)

"Dogs in the Vineyard -- a third choice in a year full
of games that very nearly tie one another. People can't stop talking about
this game, and the front and center positioning of that rarest of gaming
beasts -- moral dilemmas -- makes this a hugely compelling game. Bravo."

""Dogs in the Vineyard" is a clean, driven
game that was the first game I ever dubbed a "page-turner." It
reads well, it plays even better. What best complements its premise is its
approachability. You get "Dogs in the Vineyard" immediately because
Vincent's writing is fresh yet direct. He really feels like you're sitting
across from him as he's describing this great new game he wants you to play."

"Dogs in the Vineyard is a tight, well-written game that
does exactly what it sets out to do, and has rules for escalating conflict
that other RPGs should very much look at. Innovative, focused, and one of
the few RPGs my wife is interested in playing, being an ex-Mormon and all."

"Dogs in the Vineyard is a well-written, fun read with
strong mechanics and a rich setting. I put a lot of stock in a game that
so intrigues me that I have to read it twice through."

"Innovative rules that drive home the game\'s themes.
They tie characters to the world and make their relationships to NPCs matter,
mechanically. Though the setting itself is not very detailed, it\'s an interesting
take on the western genre."

"Dogs" is an obvious choice - it manages to be an
impossible thing. It's a highly avant-garde role-playing system about Mormon
missionaries in the Old West and it appeals to almost every person who gives
it a try. That's bizarre, and yet completely deserving."

"Dogs in the Vineyard has the coolest rules I have ever
seen in a roleplaying game, ever."

"Not only groundbreaking design, but guidelines and mechanics
that change the relationship between players and the game. With the best
GM support going, to boot."

"DOGS IN THE VINEYARD is nearly unique in the primary
role that morality and religion play in the construction of characters,
settings, and adventures. Along with an interesting, carefully staged design,
the result is a powerful game of justice and responsibility."

"Dogs in the Vineyard presents a mechanic which not only
enhances play, but really does serve to crack up the tension during conflicts.
An excellently thought out and impressively presented game."

"DitV: Compelling character role—spiritual enforcer
in the Wild West."

"Dogs In the Vineyard is a nicely designed, solid game,
that shines, I think, in how well it conveys textually what it's like to
play, and how it should be run. The religious gunslinger thing doesn't much
appeal to me personally, but damn if the game isn't fun in play despite
that."